Yeah this is very true.

While I can still have fun playing something like Mario 64 or Perfect Dark or Donkey Kong Country or RE4 today, doing so doesn't have the same impact as playing them for the first time in the 90s/2000s did.

Novelty and context are powerful things.

Since the USA tariffs went into effect (about a year and a half), it has been one of the worst times in history to game, at least in the USA. And that is being felt in some other markets too with AI and such also raising prices and general corporate greed continuing.
It's just going to get worse. Even if it takes until 2029 or 2030 to launch, very little chance PS6 is under $900. And realistically it will be $1000 or more.
Switch 2 is surely getting another price increase in the USA and maybe some other regions even after the upcoming one.
PS5 might go up again, maybe even Xbox Series despite its meager hardware units sold in the past few years.
I think it's going to take until the early to mid 2030s for another golden or silver age of gaming to begin if it ever does. Despite what faults were in the industry, I think pre-COVID pandemic gaming was in one of those golden ages, or at least a silver age.
For a bit there after the height of the pandemic we were starting to get into another silver age until 2025 hit.
There is a massive amount of quality titles past and present to play. The problem is hardware and PC prices.

Yea half of these responses haven’t even glanced at OP lol.

I'm enjoying gamin very much at present. I think modern consoles are wonderfully convenient and feature rich. I am enjoying online co-op play with my friends like never before.

I am also a grown adult with a full time job so I can afford to buy the games I want. Just don't have much free time to play them all lol.

It’s the best ever. You have access to all the old games and new games.

Also I strongly disagree that the economic barrier to gaming is high. Just look at inflation adjusted prices for older consoles.
Heck just one game for in example the NES was $60 in late 80’s early 90’s dollars.

I did. Maybe some of us didn't read it close enough. 

If you emulate like many do, sure this is one of the best times. If you don't (I don't) I still say pre-COVID and pre-2025 were easily better. 

Yes, it is the best time for gaming, but now is the worst time to get NEW games. What makes the present the best time are the libraries of games that are available at the starting position and how easy it is to find steep discounts on comparatively recent games. There are a variety of subscription services for those who prefer the option, and there are robust options for playing from the couch, desk, or on the go.

However, the industry is eating itself alive. Hardware prices no longer make any sense, the Big Three are backsliding on the accessibility of their products, and publishers’ standards have never been lower for what’s considered a finished product.

So it all depends which direction you look. The next ten years looks absolutely awful going by the state of where things are, but if you can look backwards, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than, wait, that’s the Lion King but you know what I mean.

If you only look at the availability of good games, past and present, you could make the argument (we can still play most old games), but then it is still a terrible time for gaming, as the 2070s will almost certainly be so much better.
But given that even in the 90s so many quality games released that you couldn't possible find time to play them all, I don't really think that is the most important factor.

You have to also look at the quality of new game releases, their cultural relevance, current industry practices, hardware and software prices, the overall experience of modern gaming hardware and the culture around gaming. I don't think this is close to the best time to game for any of these criteria.

Too many remakes, too few big relevant games (although there is still a fair amount), hardware and software has gotten too expensive, the industry practices are disgusting.
I miss the time when consoles didn't connect to the internet.

I only chose "but it is a very good time" because of the easy access to retro titles.

Even Google keeps recommending me ps4 games at best when I look for new games to play. The newest game I'm enjoying currently is from 2019.

I long back for a time without updates, so sick of it to come back to gaming after a while and first have to update again, make sure controllers are charged etc.